China’s new turboprop-powered medium airlifter built by Xi’an Aircraft Corporation, dubbed Y-30, has flown for the first time.
A long-rumored medium-class airlifter was seen flying for the first time at the XAC airfield (Xi’an Aircraft Corporation) in the city of Xi’an in Central China. Low-quality images that have started to circulate online show an aircraft that is largely similar to models of a “New Medium Transport” aircraft shown by AVIC (AViation Industry corporation of China) in the past, suggesting that the type has entered the flight testing phase.
The type is often referred to as the Y-30 by Chinese aviation enthusiasts, although there has been no official confirmation on the designation.
As it seems, we have our first Chinese Christmas surprise 🥳… according to several news reports and even short video footage, the Y-30 performed its maiden flight today. pic.twitter.com/GBYvd50FvL
— @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) December 16, 2025
The new aircraft is powered by four turboprop engines and appears to be considerably smaller than the A400M, despite the two sharing a broadly similar external configuration. It is unclear what exact engine the new aircraft is fitted with, but it is likely to be a variant of the WJ-6 (which also powers other platforms such as the KJ-600, Y-8, and Y-9 alongside Special Mission variants of the aircraft), considering that the engines feature four six-bladed propellers.
The aircraft features a wing planform similar to that of the C-130 with minimal sweep, and incorporates winglets akin to those seen on the larger C-17. As is the trend with many recently-developed cargo aircraft, the new type also features a T-tail.
— ᵀ¹ᵐᵉ (@WZZJWZ) December 16, 2025
The aircraft has a tricycle landing gear arrangement, with tandem wheels on each main undercarriage leg. This configuration points toward a payload class around 25-30 tonnes, slightly exceeding that of the Y-8 and Y-9 series currently in PLA (People’s Liberation Army) service – both of which offer cargo capacities in the 15-20-tonne range.
In fact, the new type is allegedly set to become the replacement for the two types, which are also built by XAC. It also features what is likely to be an air data probe, as is customary for the first prototype or flying examples of new aircraft.
The ‘reveal’ of the new airlifter follows a string of new PLA assets revealed in the past year, including the J-36 very-heavy fighter, the lighter (yet still very large) J-XDS, the KJ-3000 AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) aircraft, and an array of UCAVs (Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles). The reveal towards the end of December fits in with a broader trend in recent years of showing such new systems on or near Dec. 26, on the late Chairman Mao’s birthday.
Y-30
The first reports about the development of the Y-30 cargo aircraft emerged over ten years ago, as reported in 2014 by Aviation Week. Chinese officials at the time said the program was still in the conceptual design phase and was expected to go into full-scale development two years later, with fielding expected in the 2020s.
According to the reports, the Y-30 was intended to be in the same size category of the C-130 Hercules, with an 80 tons (176,000 lb) MTOW (Maximum Take-Off Weight) and a 30 tons (66,000 lb) payload. The aircraft was reported to have an intended range with full payload between 6,000 km and 7,000 km (3,240 and 3,780 nautical miles).
A first scale model was already shown in 2014 at the Zhuhai Air Show. The aircraft was equipped with four turboprop engines, but a twin turbofan powerplant was also being considered.
Those first reports also mentioned to expectation for the Y-30 to become China’s main airlifter. In fact, the PLA was aiming to replace its Y-8 and Y-9 aircraft with the new platform, which would complement the larger Y-20 that, at the time, was still in flight testing.
